Continuous-record interchanging phonograph



Feb. 3. '1 925. D. F. ESHLEMAN CONTINUOUS RECORD INTERCHANGING PHONQC-RAPH 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 25 1925 Feb. 3. 1925.

D. F. ESHLEMAN CONTINUOUS RECORD INTERCHANGING PHONOGRAPH Filed May 23, 1923 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Feb. 3. 1925. 1,525,283

, D. F. ESHLEMAN CONTINUOUS RECORD INTERCHANGING PHO NOGRAPH Filed May 23. 1923 a Sheets-Sheet 5 gnuenkpz D F. Eshjlemo/u -trol lever Patented Feb. 3, 1925.

UNITED STATES DAVID E. ESHLEMAN, or wnrmssnoao. PENNSYLVANIA.

CONTINUOUS-RECORD INTERCHANGING PHONOGRAPH.

Application filed May 23,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, DAVID F. ESHLEMAN, citizen of the United States, residing at \Vaynesboro, in the county of Franklin and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Con tinuous-Reoord Interchanging Phonographs, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improve phonograph particularly designed for use in dance halls or the like, and seeks, among other objects, to provide a phonograph which will automatically operate to successively play a number of records.

The invention has as a further object, to provide a phonograph which will play both sides of each record and wherein the reversal of the records may be automatically accomplished. v

Another object -of the invention is to provide a phonograph embodying an endless .record carrier and wherein means will be provided for-automatically starting and stopping the carrier for shifting the records into position over the turntable successively.

And a still further object of the invention, in this connection, is to provide a honographembodying a vertically shiftable turntable and wherein means will be provided for automatically elevating the turntable to engage each record successively coincident with the stopping of the carrier to accomplish the playing of the record while, after the record has been played, the turntable will be automatically lowered.

Other and incidental objects will appear hereinafter.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is. a vertical sectional view through my improved phonograph,

' Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional view on the line 2-2 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows,

Figure 3 is an enlarged detail sectional view of the driving clutch employed,

Figure 4: is an enlarged sectional view of the turntable clutch,

Figure 5 is a detail elevation of the confor the driving clutch and turntable clutch,

Figure 6 is a ing the drive shaft for the record carrier,

Figure 7 is a fragmentary plan view showing the mounting of the record supporting shafts of the record carrier, and

Figure 8' is. a detail sectional view detail sectional view show-' 1923. Serial No. 640,903.

-a portion of the trip mechanism.

11 carrying the invention into effect, I

employ a cabinet 1 having the usual hinged (1 cover 2 and provided with a motor board 3.

Secured to the motor board is a bearing 4 through which is journaled a vertically movable shaft 5 carrying a turntable 6 at its upper end and provided at its lower end with a clutch cone 7 Loosely surrounding the shaft is a combined beveled gear and clutch member 8 recessed centrally, as indicated at 9, to receive the clutch cone and provided with a flanged hub 10. Extending from. one side wall of the cabinet is an arm 11 provided at its forward end with-a split bearingcollar 12 secured about the flange of said hub journaling said member. Ex-

tending horizontally beneath the lower end of the shaft 5 are alined driving shafts 13 and- 14 journaled through suitable bearings 15 and 16 arid rotatably connected at their inner ends, 15 indicated at 17 in Figure 3. Near its on or end, the shaft 13 carries a beveled gear 18 meshing with the combined gear and clutch member 8 and splined upon the shaft near its inner end is a clutch member 19. Fixed to the inner end portion of the shaft 14 is a similar confronting clutch 'member 20 and slidable upon the shafts between said clutch members is a double-ended clutch pulley 21 freely rotatable independently of the shafts, the pulley being beveled at its ends to engage the beveled inner faces of the clutch members. Suitably mounted. in the lower end portion of the cabinet is an appropriate electric or other type of motor 22 above which is journaled a short shaft 23 carrying a pulley 24 and a smaller pulley 25. Trained around the drive pullev of the motor and around the pulley 24 is 'a belt 26 and trained around the clutch pulley the pulley 25 and around Thus, the clutch 21 is a similar belt 27.

pulleywill be driven from the motor but,

by reason of the interposition of the pulleys 24 and 25, at a slower speed. Furthermore,

as will be seen, when the clutch pulley 21 is shifted to engage the clutch member 9, the shaft 13 will be rotated so that when the clutch cone 7 is brought into engagement with the combined gear and clutch member "shaft 14 will be rotated. When either of the shafts '13 and 14 is being driven, the other of said shafts will, of course, remain at rest. The mechanism employed for shifting the clutch pulley 21 in opposite directions as well as for elevating the turntable shaft 5, will be later described. Connected at one end with the hub of the clutch member 19 and at its opposite end with the shaft 13 is a centrifugal governor 28 which, when the clutch pulley 21 isshifted toengage the clutch member 19 is operable, as will be appreciated, to draw the clutch member 19 away from the pulley and thus relieve the frictional contact between said clutch member and the pulley for automatically controlling the speed of the shaft 13 and consequently controlling the speed of rotation of the turntable. Formed on the shaft 13 is, as particularly shown in Figure 3, an annular stop shoulder 29 for limiting the clutch member in its movement toward the pulley and, as illustrated, the governor preferably comprises a plurality of weighted pivoted spring arms normally functioning to hold the clutch member engaged with said shoulder.

In conjunction with the turntable 6, I employ a record carrier including a pair of endless chains 30 and 31 mounted in parallel planes to extend at opposite sides of the turntable and trained over sprockets 32 upon the motor 3. Themotor board is, as shown in Figure 1, provided with elongated openings to receive the chains therethrough and mounted within. the cabinet are pairs of sprockets 33, 34, 35 and 36, over which the chains are trained, each -air of sprockets being carried by a cross shalt 37. Associated with the shaft for the pair of sprockets 36 are guide yokes 38 slidably accommodating bearlng blocks 39 journalingthe shaft and threaded through the yokes to coact with said blocks are set bolts 40 adjustable for shifting the blocks and tensioning the chains. Journaled within the cabinet in a plane with the shaft of the pair of sprockets 33 is a dri ve shaft 41 provided medially, as shown in Figure 6, with a drive gear 42. Extending at right angles'to the shaft is a short -shaft 43 upon one end of which is fixed a beveled gear 44 meshing with the gear 42 while at its opposite end said shaft carries a spur gear 45, and fixed to the adjacent end of the drive shaft 14 is a pinion 46 meshing with said spur gear. Thus, when the shaft 14 is rota ed through the medium of the clutch pulley 21, the shaft 41 will be turned for driving the carrier. Mounted upon the carrier chains at suitably spaced points are pairs of longitudinally alined record supporting shafts 47 journaled, as shown in detail in Figure 7, through bearings 48 fixed to the chains and formed in each of said shafts is a pair of diametric sockets 49. Mounted upon the bearings to enga e in said sockets are detents 50 behind Wl1l01 are arranged s rings 51 retained by threaded plugs 52. ounted upon the outer ends of the shafts carried b the chain 30 are pinions 5 3 and upstan ing from the bottom wall of the cabinet is a bracket 54 provided at its upper end with an inclined rack bar 55 disposed to engage said pinions. Mounted upon the inner ends of each pair of shafts are record holding clamps each including companion upper and lower clamping fingers or jaws 56 and 57 pivoted upon the shafts respectively, The lower fingers 57 are limited in their movement toward the upper fingers 56 extending in substantially parallel relation to the shafts, by

lugs 58 upon the shafts, and extending between the forward ends of each pair of fingers is a spring 59. Each pair of clamps is thus adapted to hold a record, as conventionally illustrated at 60, the record being gripped at diametric marginal points between the clamping fingers of said pairs respectively. In the present instance, I have shown the record carrier as equipped to carry a total of seven records and it is now to be noted that the upper reach of the car- 'rier between the pairs of sprockets 32 extends in a plane slightly above the turntable 6 when said table is at rest, so that as the carrier is advanced, each of the records will be brought to a position above the turntable in parallel registering relationthereto. Furthermore, it is to be noted that as the carrier is advanced, each of the pinions '53 will, as shown in Figure 1, be brought into engagement with the rack bar 55 when, under tcontinued movement of the carrier, each pair of record supporting shafts will be rotated a half turn for successively reversing the records side for side, rotary motion of the driven shaft of eachpair being communicated to the other shaft of each pair through the record. The purpose of the detents 50 for the record supporting shafts therefore becomes clear, since these detents will function to limit the records when turned.

,Pivoted upon the cabinet at opposite sides of the turntable 6 are, as shown in Figure 2, alined arms 61 lying in a plane with the center studs of the turntable and engageable at their outer ends with the fingers 56 of each pair of record holding clamps when the record carrier is brought to rest. Depending from the motor board 3 at opposite sides of the shaft 5 are brackets 62 and pivoted upon said brackets are levers 63. At their connecting the outer ends of said levers with the arms. 61 are rods 65. Pivoted to rock vertically upon a bracket 66 is a lever 67. the inner end of which is disposed to engage the lower end of the shaft 5.

extending between the lower end of said lever and the outer end of the lever 67 is a link 70, the lever 69 being formed at its lower end with a stop lug 71 to coact with said link. Mounted to rock upon a bracket 72 is a shift lever 73 provided at its inner end with a fork 74 engaging in an annular groove in the periphery of the clutch pulley 21 and extending between the inner end portion of said lever and the bearing 16 is a spring 73 normally holding the clutch pulley engaged with the clutch member 20. Connecting the ,Outer I end of the lever 7 3 with the lower end of the control lever 69 is a rod 75. As brought out in Figure 2, the control lever 69 projects through the motor board 3 adjacent the chain 30 of the record carrier and mounted upon said chain adjacent each of the record supporting shafts thereon are trip members 7 6 engageable with the upper end of the lever. Mounted to swing upon the motor board in any approved manner is a tone arm 77 extending over the turntable 6 and'provided at its free end with an appropriate sound box 78. Extending radially from the arm near its inner end is, as shown in Figure 8, a trip member 79 and surrounding the tone arm is a coil spring 80 one end of which is suitably attached to the tone arm while the opposite end of said springis secured to the motor board 3 so that the spring will function to swing the tone arm to the periphery of the turntable.

Assuming now that the control lever 69 is standing in the position shown in Figure 1. it will be seen that the clutch pulley 21 will be held in engagement with the clutch member 20 by the spring 73 so that, as previously described, the record carrier will be driven by the shaft 14 from right to left for disposing one of the records GO'oVen -the turntable 6, the turntable being in lowered position. As the record approaches a position registering with the turntable, one of the trip members 76 upon the chain 30 of the carrier will be brought into engagement with the upper end of the control lever 69 for swinging the upper end of said lever to the left, as'vi'ewed in Figure 1, and rocking the lever to the dotted line position of Figure 5. The lower end of the lever will thusbe moved from one side of the center of the pivotal connection between the lever and the link to the opposite side of-said pivotal center, the lever being limited in its movement by the engagement of the stop lug 69 with the link. .;Aceordingly, as will be seen, downward travel will be imparted k to the link incident to the pivotal movement Pivoted upon a bracket 68 is a control lever 69 and.

' of the lever so that the link will be caused to rock the outer end of the lever 67 downwardly with the result that the inner end 'of the lever will, in turn, be caused to raise the turntable shaft 5 and elevate the turntable 6 into engagement with the record. Coincident'ly, the inner ends of the levers 63 will be swung upwardly by the collar 64: so that the free ends of the arms 61 will be swung downwardly for rocking the fingers 56 of the pair of clamps holding the record, out of engagementwith the record. The record will thus be freed for rotation by the turntable. At the same time, the clutch cone z will be elevated into engagement with the combined clutch member and gear 8 while lithe shift lever '73 will be rocked through the medium of the rod for shifting theclutch pulley 21 into engagement with the clutch member 19. Accordingly, clutch pulley will then serve tof clutch member and gear 8 and accordingly driving the turntable "shaft 5 through the mediumof the clutch cone 7. lVhen the turntable 6 is elevated, as just described, the recordwill, in turn, be slightly elevated thereby to engage the needle of the sound box 78 so that the needle will then follow the groove of the record, as the record is rotated, whereby to accomplish the playing of the record. As the needle of the sound box approaches the inner end of the groove of the'record, the trip member '79 will be brought into engagement with the upper end of the control, lever 69 for swinging the upper end of the lever toward the right, as viewed in Figure 1, and returning the lever to its original position. When this occurs, the pressure against the outer end of the lever 67 will be relieved so that the inner end of the lever will drop for lowering the turntable out of engagement with the record and disengaging the clutch cone 7 from the combined clutch member and gear 8 while the inner ends of the levers 63 will be swung downwardly and the free ends of the arms 61 accordingly swung upwardly out of engagement with the clutch fingers 56 of the record clamps. The clamps will then, of course, imnediately again grip the record under the in uence of the springs 59. Upon the lowering of the turntable and consequent the clutch III/81%;?! 19 and into engagement with the clutch ember 20 for again driving the record carrier to advance a fresh record to a position over the turntable. The cycle of operatipn as described will then, of course, be repeated. It will accordingly be seen that as long as the motor 22 is running the records will be successively nately at opposite sides thereof.

Inasmuch as the return movement of the arm 69 to the normal position shown in Fig ure 1 of the drawings, through engagement of the arm 79 against the said arm 69 at" the time the stylus of the sound box reaches the inner end of the grooveof the record being played, would be resisted by the tripping member 76, at such time in engagement Having thus described the invention, What,

isclaimed as new is:

1. A phonograph including a turntable,

an endless record carrier operable for advancinga records to a position over the turntable, driving means, and control mechanism for operatively connecting said'driving means with the turntable or with the carrier. I

- 2. A phonographincluding aturntable,

an endless record carrier operable for advanemg a record to a position over the turntable, driving means including clutch mechanism, and control means for said clutch mechanism operable for iconnectlngthe driving means with the-turntable or with the carrier.

3. A phonograph including a turntable, a tone arm associated therewith, an endless record carrier operable for advancing a record to a position over the turntable, driving means for the carrier and said turntable, control mechanism for said driving means, means upon the carrier to coact with said mechanism for oper atively connecting the driving means with the turntable and freeing the carrier, and means associated with the tone arm to coact with said mechanism for operatively connecting the driving mans with the carrier and freeing the turnta e.

4. A phonograph including a turntable, an endless record carrier operable for advancing a record to a position over the turntable, driving means for the turntable and said carrier including a driven double-ended clutch member, and control mechanism operable for shifting said clutch member 1n one direction connecting, the driving means with the carrier and freeing the turntable or shifting said clutch member in the opposite direction for connecting the turntable withthe driving meansand freeing the cartier.

played alter- 5. In a phono raph, a'rotatable turntable shaft mounted or vertical movement and provided with a clutch member, a turntable carried by said shaft, means for rotatingsaid shaft including a combined clutch and driven gear freely receiving the shaft therethrough and disposed to coact with said clutch member, and control mechanism for elevating the shaft and shifting said clutch memberinto engagement with said gear.

6. In a phonograph, a turntable mounted for vertical movement, an endless record carrier operable for advancing a record to a position over the turntable, record holding means upon the carrier, driving means for the turntable, control mechanism for connecting said driving means with the turntable and elevating the turntable to engage a record, and means associated with the turntable operable for releasing said recording holding means when the turntable is liftetr' 7. A phonograph including a rotatable turntable shaft mounted for vertical movement, a turntable carried by said shaft, an endless record carrier operable for advancing a record to, a position over the turntable, driving means for rotating said shaft, record holding clamps upon the carrier, control mechanism for connecting the driving means with the shaft and elevating said shaft to engage the turntable with a record, and means operable b the shaft when lifted for releasing said c amps and freeing the record. J

8. In a phonograph, a turntable, an endless record carrier operable for advancing a record-to a position over the turntable, rotatable record holding means upon the carrier, driving means for the earner, and means to coact with said record holding means for rotating said means and reversing therecord.

9. Ina phonograph, a rotatable turntable shaft, means for rotatin the shaft comprising a clutch including re atively fixed clutch members and a shiftable clutch member op- 'erating between the same, an operative gear direction, a tri member pivotally mounted u n the en es carrier and engageable with the said rook arm to rock the latter and ell'ect shifting movement of the shittable. clutch member at a period in the travel of the endless carrier, a tone arm, an arm movable with the tone arm and arranged for coaction with the rock lever to return the same to normal position, and means actuated through movement of the last mentioned arm to coact with the trip member I and elevate the same. out of engagen'ient with the said rock arm.

10. A phonograph including a turntable, a record carrier supported for travel past the turntable, means upon the record carrier for gripping arecord and for releasing the record to permit of the same being supported upon the turntable during a period of reproduction, and a common operating means for imparting rotary motion to the turntable during the reproduction period and for imparting travel to the carrier prior to and subsequent to the said period of reproduction.

11. A phonograph including a record turntable, a record carrier movable With relation to the table, means upon the carrierflfor suppm'tin-g a record and operable to release the record when in a position above the table and dm-inga period of' reproduction. a motor driven clutch member, means for imparting motion to the carrier including a clutch member arranged in juX- taposition to the first mentioned clutch member, means for imparting rotary motion to the turntable including 'a clutch member arranged in juxtaposition to the first men'- tioned clutch member. and means actuated through movement of the carrier for effecting automatic selective. shifting of the firs! mentioned clutch member with respect to the second and third mentioned clutch members to control the driving mechanisms in consonance with the period of reproduction.

12. In a phonograph, a turntable, an end less record. carrier operable for advancing a record to a position over the turntable. driving means for the carrier, ancl'means for effecting a reversal of the record at a point in the travel of the carrier.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

DAVID F. ESHLEMAN. [L. s] 

